2019: ‘Kingibe For President’ Branded Indomie Packs Flood Markets

LAGOS FEBRUARY 5TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, on Thursday, denied nursing presidential ambition for the 2019 elections, but Nigerian markets are awash with Indomie packs bearing a photo of the politician and the inscription, ‘Ambassador Babagana Kingibe for President 2019’.
The branded Indomie noodles have appeared on a large scale and are reportedly sold at the highly subsidised rate of N1,500 per carton as against the retail price of N3,150 in the market.
It is not known if the Babagana Kingibe Indomie noodles will remain on sale for long or would be withdrawn too now that Kingibe had issued advertorials to refute rumours of his presidential ambition for 2019.
Analysts said Sunday night that it would be difficult not to link the branded Indomie to Kingibe, noting that how the former diplomat would explain the current situation remained curious.
The latest development has triggered yet another alarm at the presidency.
It would be recalled that posters of Kingibe for president 2019 flooded major cities last week.
He afterward denied any presidential ambition to assuage frayed nerves in the power bloc.
Sources confirmed that top aides of President Muhammadu Buhari did not take kindly to the posters.
They were said to have considered it treacherous and an affront to whatever intention their principal had for 2019, especially given that the former diplomat was also an insider of the Presidential Villa.
It is not, however, certain if the campaign materials were not the handiwork of adversaries of the politician, to put him at odds with the occupants of the Presidential Villa.
Ambassador Babagana Kingibe took out pages of advertorial to deny ever nursing political ambition in 2019 after news reports of his campaign posters hit the airwaves.
The posters had eight days ago flooded the streets of Maiduguri, Abuja, Lagos, Asaba, Kano, Uyo, Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Ilorin, Lokoja, forcing the politician to deny involvement.
Remarkably, the same major cities were the ones where the Kingibe-Indomie noodles appeared for sale in the markets.
Sources close to Kingibe confirmed that the former ambassador had a lengthy chat with President Buhari last week, obviously to pledge his loyalty and support for the president and to deny nursing any presidential ambitions for 2019.
He was said to have assured Buhari specifically that neither he nor his political associates were behind the appearance of those 2019 political campaign materials in circulation.
Abba Kyari, Buhari’s Chief of Staff, was said to be present during the chat with Kingibe.
He was said to have expressed serious worries and disappointment over Kingibe’s alleged presidential ambition, and this may have prompted the public denial.

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